Jaffa cakes are 50% sugar, but what’s in the other half?

Ever since hearing that the England football team takes Jaffa cakes when it goes on tour, I've looked at them with fresh eyes. What is it about the spongy treat that makes it so popular? If athletes eat them, does that mean they qualify as a healthy option?
Jaffa cakes were first made by McVitie's and Price in the UK in 1927. The original was a little sponge topped with jam and a layer of chocolate. There is quite a lot more in there now however. There are also a lot more brands, though the distinction between them seems to be on price and marketing, rather than recipe, with own-brand Jaffa cakes from Jacob's, Aldi, Lidl, Centra, Supervalu and Dunnes, for example.
So what's the difference?
McVitie's wins on marketing. The packaging even mentions its Jaffa cake Facebook page, which has thousands of followers. It also says: "To find out how exercise and a balanced diet can help a healthy lifestyle" That is a fairly standard website run by United Biscuits, which owns McVitie's and is in turn owned by Yildiz Holding, a Turkish food conglomerate. It dishes out uncontroversial advice to eat a balanced diet and get some exercise.
Starch industry
When it comes to ingredients, McVitie's sets the tone and lists more than 30. It's hard to give an exact number and some are mentioned as "and/or". So they may or may not be there. The first ingredient on the list is glucose-fructose syrup and it makes up at least 19 per cent of the ingredients, though probably much more. In the European Union, the fructose content of glucose-fructose syrup is usually about 20 to 30 per cent and it is made from wheat or maize,according to the Starch Europe, a trade association that represents the interests of the starch industry. In the United States, it is often known as high-fructose corn syrup as it is predominately made from corn, and can be up to 50 per cent fructose. So it is similar, though not the same, as the type of sugar used in fizzy drinks in the US. Manufacturers love it because it can provide texture, volume, taste, glossiness, improved stability and a longer shelf life.

From Jaffa Cakes to Weetabix, who really owns Britain’s favourite foods?

With the news that Britain’s biggest biscuit company United Biscuits has been sold to Turkish firm Yildiz, we chart the global drift of the UK’s kitchen-cupboard stalwarts

Big in Turkey … Jaffa Cakes. Photograph: Clive Gee/PA

Those foreigners, they come over here and steal our biscuits. That was Ukip’s imaginary response to Monday’s newsflash that Britain’s biggest biscuit maker United Biscuits, guardian of the Jaffa Cake, Penguin and McVitie’s Digestives, had been gobbled up by little known Turkish food giant Yildiz for £2bn. But it’s not the first time that overseas firms have raided our larder …

Jaffa Cakes

These cakey-biscuity hybrids roll off a production line in Manchester but its parent, United Biscuits – which also owns Jacob’s, Twiglets and Mini Cheddars – is based in Hayes Middlesex. Yildiz’s perhaps less well known brands include “Turtles”, “Kat Kat, Tat” and “Bizim Mutfak” so opportunities for new biscuit variants abound.

Cadbury Dairy Milk

Cadbury Dairy Milk. Photograph: Linda Nylind/Guardian

It’s as British as Hershey’s these days after US food giant Kraft wrested control of Britain’s favourite chocolatier for £11.6bn in 2010. Dairy Milk is still made in Cadbury’s spiritual home of Bournville, but its paymasters are based near Chicago, in Deerfield, Illinois.

Burton’s Biscuits

Jammie Dodgers. Photograph: Sarah Lee/Guardian

Ahh, Jammie Dodgers with that gooey splodge of red stuff in the middle. Jammies are part of the Burton’s Biscuit (tin) along with other dunking favourites such as Lyons fig rolls and Wagon Wheels, but the St Albans company is British no more having been sold to Canadian investors, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, for £350m last year.

Weetabix

Weetabix. Photograph: Alamy

The Chinese are literally eating our breakfast these days, gobbling up British cereal maker Weetabix two years ago in a deal worth £1.2bn. The takeover by state-owned Bright Food has spawned a number of spin-offs, with green tea-flavoured breakfast bars, developed in its Northamptonshire labs, to be exported to China.

Newcastle Brown Ale

Newcastle Brown Ale. Photograph: Alamy

The carve up of UK brewing giant Scottish & Newcastle in 2008 saw “Newkie Brown” fall to Heineken. According to the Dutch brewer’s website it is one of the fastest-selling beers in the US with its “delicate fruit aroma, and caramel and nutty malt taste” making it easy to drink. That’s not how we remember it from our student days.

New Covent Garden Soup

New Covent Garden Soup. Photograph: Katherine Rose

The posh soup maker, set up by two North London entrepreneurs in 1986, is now owned by Hain Celestial, the US food group which is also home to Linda McCartney’s vegetarian sausages.

The Glenlivet

Glenlivet. Photograph: Alamy

This single malt appears to be Scottish as tartan and shortbread with the Glenlivet distillery nestled in the dramatic scenery of Speyside, but it has been owned by French drinks giant Pernod Ricard for more than a decade.

Sarson’s vinegar

Sarson’s vinegar. Photograph: Alamy

The famous condiment was invented by London vinegar maker Thomas Sarson in 1794, and according to vinegar lore, you used to catch a whiff of it brewing as you approached London Bridge due to its nearby factory. Two years ago, it was one of several brands sold off by Mr Kipling owner Premier Food’s to Japan’s Mizkan Group.